Stop survey for refinery at Barsu, say Opp parties as govt says won’t tolerate opposition just for politics

“First they opposed Metro car shed at Arey. Then they opposed the port, the Samruddhi mahamarg, and now they are against the refinery… We respect the Opposition’s stand. And if there are some misunderstandings or apprehensions, we are willing to address it… but if they are opposing for political gains, we will not tolerate it,” said Fadnavis.

Former environment minister Aaditya Thackeray said that the MVA had put the condition to take locals into confidence before moving ahead with the project.

The Ratnagiri Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (RRPCL), promoted by the three major public sector oil companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd — was originally planned in Nanar village of Ratnagiri district. Shiv Sena opposed the project citing local opposition and after party president Uddhav Thackeray became the chief minister, he announced that the project will not take off at Nanar. Since then, the location was finalised at the Barsu-Solgaon area, where local residents opposed the project citing possible environmental damage.

Earlier in the day, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said: “It is dictatorial of the government to arrest protesters and stop the media from telecasting the proceedings at Barsu-Solgaon. The government must respect the sentiments of the people and stop the survey process immediately.”

On Tuesday morning, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar held talks with Industries Minister Uday Samant and asked him to release individuals arrested for protesting against the project. Two top leaders of the protest movement, Satyajit Chavan and Mahesh Chavan, were arrested by the Ratnagiri police Sunday and sent to judicial custody. A total of 110 local residents were arrested for attempting to stop the survey.

Congress legislative party leader Balasaheb Thorat tweeted, “At the refinery site in Barsu, Ratnagiri, local citizens, women and children are protesting against the refinery survey… The unwarranted police action against the protesters and the media representatives is highly condemnable. The government should stop this oppression and the survey immediately.”

He further said, “Fourteen citizens have died in the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony due to the government’s blunder. Now, does the government want to kill the farmers by taking police action against them for protesting at Barsu? Stop this oppression immediately!”

The Shiv Sena (UBT) also slammed the state government. “I am afraid that on the lines of the Jallianwala massacre in Punjab, there will be a massacre in Barsu-Solgaon where thousands of villagers are opposing the proposed petrochemical refinery project. The state is misusing police machinery to suppress the protest and threaten the villagers. They might shoot down the villagers,” Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut said.
Allaying apprehensions that it would damage the environment, Fadnavis said that the green refinery planned in Barsu-Solgaon adequate environmental safeguards.

“The government’s repression in Barsu is unfortunate. The government will not hesitate to attack the son of the soil of Konkan who are protecting the nature. Our stand is clear (on the refinery). First stop the atrocities on the villagers. Interact with them. Tell them who are going to benefit… As the MVA had put the condition, the villagers should be taken into consideration before setting up the refinery… There should be transparency in the whole process and the final decision must be of the local villagers,” said Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray.

The government, however, claimed that many people were supporting the project and only a few were opposed to it.

“This project will generate employment in Konkan and it is in the interest of Maharashtra. That is why then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had written a letter to the central government… It was not Chief Minister Eknath Shinde or DCM Devendra Fadnavis who wrote the letter…,” said Industries Minister Uday Samant.